Heart by Heart
by wefallinlovewithstrangers
Summary: Short Christmas Austin&Ally AU. Trish gets fired from her job as writer for the local gossip magazine, but not before she convinces her boss to let Ally write an article on music sensation Austin Moon. Ally goes for it in the hope of showing Austin her song-writing. But when nothing turns out like expected, she finds out you can never really know someone's heart by heart.
1. Chapter 1

I'd always been clumsy. But I have to admit, this was bad. Really bad. Even for me.

"I am so sorry!" I stuttered. My cheeks had flushed dark red, and I was on the verge of crying.

It didn't help that my best friend Trish was also crying.

Of laughter.

The stranger just looked at me in complete horror. He was probably too shocked to yell at me. Or maybe he was still deciding between yelling and just straight up punching me in the face.

Now let me explain you something. When I say that I've always been clumsy, I mean really clumsy.

I mean the kind of clumsy where I actually broke my nose once because I tripped over my own feet and fell against a wall.

The kind of clumsy where no one ever wants to be in the same room as me if I've got any kind of liquid or food in my hands, because I will spill it on you.

The kind of clumsy where any really important moment always gets ruined.

But I had never done anything like this.

Trish and I were at our local coffee shop, where we hang out almost every day. Usually, we would sit outside in the sun, but since it was December and quite chilly, we settled for a table in the corner, the same one every day.

It was our table. It was a routine, to get our morning cup of coffee there, catching up.

I would tell her all about the troubles of school and working in my dad's music store. He had given it to me for my 21st birthday. I'd had it for two years now, and it was all working out quite well.

She would tell me all about her troubles of actually finding a job. Right now, she was working as a reporter for some low life gossip magazine.

I hated those. So did she. But she did love money, and it paid quite well.

Today, we walked in chatting. Now for normal people, chatting and walking wouldn't necessarily seem like a bad idea.

But I should've known that I was the kind of person that had to keep their attention at only one thing at a time.

I managed to remain on my feet for a really long time, actually. I managed to get my order. But when we walked to our table, it went wrong.

Really wrong.

Before I realized what was happening, I tripped over a chair. My drink flew out of my hand, landing on top of the only other person in the café.

Screaming in horror, I staggered back, bumping into a table, which scared me, making me jump again. I happened to jump into the strangers guitar, that was lying next to him, cracking it to pieces, and then I continued to fall flat out on my face.

On his table. Throwing his cup of coffee into his lap, where my own cup had already landed.

I slowly got off the table. I was debating between running away in embarrassment, or doing the right thing, which meant I would have to pay for his guitar and coffee.

And therapy, which he would probably need after this.

I decided to take the high road.

"I'm so truly sorry! Of course I will totally pay for everything! And such a beautiful guitar, too."

Thank the lord I had a music store.

"Never mind," the blonde muttered. "Just go away, before you break something else. Like my bones, or something."

I puffed offended.

"Now I'm not that clumsy. I've never broken someone's bones before." I paused, remembering the fiasco with the wall. "Well, except my own, that is. No but seriously, let me pay for the guitar."

"Just…" The boy seemed really aggravated. I took a step back, actually fearing a punch right now. Although I did, maybe, kind of deserved it.

It was a really, really nice guitar.

"I don't need your money. Just, go." He got up. "Actually, no, stay. I'm going. I guess I don't really have a choice, since I'm absolutely soaked in coffee." I took a proper look at him.

His jeans, that was ripped so badly it looked like he plucked it out of the garbage, was completely coffee coloured. It had clearly taken the worst hit.

Luckily, it was already ripped, so he could just throw that out. I never liked the ripped jeans.

Although he could pull it off.

His white V-neck was still mostly white. Only the edges were a little wet, but if he tucked those into his pants, nobody would notice.

Honestly, I would not look that good with two cups of coffee poured over me. It wasn't that bad.

He clearly did not agree. Still looking red with anger, he took the guitar and staggered off.

Trish was still dying with laughter. By now, she'd sat done, her head was lying on her arms and her entire body was shaking from laughing so hard.

After I'd helped the employee clean the coffee of the floor, I sat next to her, patiently waiting for the laughter to disappear.

I had to wait quite long.

"That was the most embarrassing thing I've ever done," I sighed, when Trish was finally paying attention to me. "And that says a lot, coming from me."

"Ally," Trish said slowly, still giggling a little. "Do you know who that was?" I raised an eyebrow.

"What, the guy? No, thank god, I don't know him. And I sincerely hope I never have to see him again."

"Oh, you're seeing him again. On television, probably." I must've looked really confused, because she started laughing again, unable to control herself.

"Ally, that was Austin Moon! You know him, he's had tons of hits! He's a big deal, babe. He's actually performing here in Miami this week."

"Oh," I said, not knowing what else to say. On one hand, it was kind of bad, ruining the outfit, guitar and day of a really famous pop star.

On the other hand, the chance that I would have to face him again was very slim. Because even if my song writing would go like I hoped, and one day I would get discovered and become a writer for famous people, twenty something year old - pop song singing boys were not really my target audience.

"Well," I continued, "I guess that's kind of bad. But on the other hand, I will never see him again, so that's a good..."

"Well," Trish interrupted. She dragged the l's and my heart froze. "I didn't come here just to have a chat, Ally."

Great, so she wanted something from me. And the problem was that I was a people pleaser, so whatever she wanted, she'd probably get.

"I kind of wanted to ask you something. Or tell you something, rather. And it kind of has something to do with Austin Moon. And it kind of has something to do with you spending time with him. A lot of time."

Except that.


	2. Chapter 2

"No!" I stormed out of the coffee shop, but Trish followed me, so I stopped. I knew she would have followed me all the way to my apartment and camped out on my doorstep until I talked to her.

"No, no, no, NO! Do I have to write it out on a piece of paper? I am NOT doing it!"

"But Ally," Trish whined, "Think of the chances it could offer you! You're a song writing nobody right now! If Austin likes your stuff, you can get famous!"

"Like, really famous," she added, when I didn't respond.

That was, strictly spoken, true. But I knew that wasn't why she was trying to talk me into this.

Trish had just told me that she got fired. She was no longer reporter for the low life gossip magazine. It had something to do with her job requiring her to actually be there, which just wasn't working for her.

But her leaving meant there was a sudden hole in the planning of her boss. He now had nobody to do the job Trish was going to do. So, obviously out of the goodness of her heart, she had offered up me to do it.

And her boss promised that he would let her go with a month's worth of pay if this would work out.

He was really desperate.

Normally, I would've taken the opportunity to hang out with a celebrity for a couple of days, writing a small story on how awesome they are after those days, and maybe getting in contact with their manager or agent or anyone who could help me out with getting my songs noticed.

Normally, I would've even loved to take the job. I would love to see how everything works backstage with a big show. I would love to watch the celebrity do their job, I would love to watch them interact with their fans.

Because that was a dream to me that would never become reality.

And if they were not nice, I would love to write an article about just how big of an ass they were.

Normally, I would have done it.

That means, if I hadn't ruined said celebrity's outfit, guitar, coffee and day just a couple of minutes ago.

"It doesn't matter, Trish. Did you not see what happened literally five minutes ago? He wouldn't even let me in. He would probably kick me out. Literally kick me. And I am NOT facing him, every again!" I had gotten into complete and utter hysteria by now.

But Trish wasn't listening.

"But Ally, come on! I couldn't know you would do that when I promised you would take my job! If you don't do it, I do not have money to eat for the rest of the month!"

Oh god, the puppy eyes appeared.

"If he kicks you out, then it is not my fault and my boss can't hold it against me! Please, Ally. This is what best friends are for."

Oh, the _best friend_ card.

"I need you, okay. Please."

The _I need you_ card.

She was really going all out, here.

I looked at her, pouting, and I knew that there was nothing else I could do. Damn me and my good heart.

"Oh for the love of god. Fine. I'll do it. But you owe me. Big time!"

"Yes!" Trish yelled, hugging me. I sighed.

Why did I have to be such a people pleaser?

* * *

I didn't sleep at all, that night. The knowledge that I would have to talk to Austin Moon tomorrow, the guy that almost punched me in the face today, was nearly enough to get me hyperventilating.

By the morning, I was ready for a mental hospital.

I was scheduled to spend the entire day following Austin around, taking notes while he was doing interviews and other pop star stuff.

I actually kind of hoped he would kick me out at first glance. I wasn't looking forward to spending almost an entire week with him.

He didn't really seem like a ray of sunshine.

Although I had to admit, being covered in coffee and pieces of your really expensive, limited edition, broken guitar sometimes did that to people.

I got dressed. Nice, but not overdone. I didn't want to seem too formal, but I didn't want to seem like a deluded teenage fan girl either. So I settled on a dress with nice cardigan and some wedges.

I never left my house without wedges or heels. I was really small, and a little insecure about my height.

The arrangement was that I'd meet Austin at his hotel, so that was where I was going. It was one of the nicest hotels in Miami, and walking into the lobby, I felt a little underdressed.

"You must be the reporter of People! Hello, I'm Mimi Moon. Call me Mimi. I'm Austin's mom and manager." The woman that approached me looked really nice. She was dressed in some jeans and a t-shirt, making me feel a little better about my choice of clothing.

"Hello, I'm Ally," I said softly, shaking her hand.

"Well, Ally, you look lovely. I was so scared the reporter would be some smelly old guy or something. That would not have been fun, since we're having you around for a week," Mimi chatted.

She took my hand, dragging me towards the elevator.

"Austin's just a little late. You will experience that quite a lot, in the following days. Let's go up to his hotel room. Maybe seeing you will put some spirit into him."

I bit my lip. I would definitely put something into Austin. But I wouldn't say spirit. I think pure fury would come closer to the truth.

We stopped on the third floor. Mimi was still chatting, about the weather and the magazine. I didn't have the heart to tell her that I honestly knew nothing about the magazine or anything she was saying about it, nor did I really care an awful lot.

"So here we are." Mimi stopped in front of one of the doors. She knocked.

"Austin? Open the door, sweetheart, the reporter is here!" The door opened. I braced myself for the scream of horror, but it wasn't the familiar blonde in the door opening.

"Hi Mimi. Austin's in the bathroom." The red head looked at me with a curious expression on his face. "Hi, you're pretty. I'm Dez."

I blushed. "Uhm, hi. I'm Ally."

"Ally? That's a cool name. Sounds kind of good together, Austin and Ally. Hey Austin, I have a surprise for you, your reporter is hot!"

Well, I was definitely a surprise for Austin.

The bathroom door opened slowly. I inhaled deeply, holding my breath.

There we go.

Austin stepped out. The room was silent. I fought the urge to close my eyes.

"Oh, you've got to be fucking kidding me."


	3. Chapter 3

That was it. Nothing else. No yelling at me to leave, no punches, nothing was being thrown at me. Just that one sentence, and silence.

I exhaled.

"Austin honey, this is Ally. She's the reporter." Mimi sounded cheery, but I heard the hidden warning in her voice.

Be nice to this girl, because she could possibly dent your career.

"Yeah. We've met," Austin deadpanned. He didn't actually look too angry. Just a little annoyed.

"Oh really? That's great, dear. Now, let's go to this radio show, shall we?" Mimi left the room. Dez followed her, but Austin stayed behind. Looking at me.

Judging me.

"Do you think you can hang around me without breaking too many instruments?" he said smirking. "Or bones. Mine, or yours, for that matter." He cocked his head to the left, making him look even more smug than the second before.

"Bad promotion, if my reporter kills herself while hanging out with me, you see."

"Oh," I sneered, "I will definitely try not to seriously injure myself while being in close proximity to you."

"Thanks. Now, let's go, we haven't got all day." He walked out of the hotel room and I followed.

I couldn't decide between being extremely annoyed because he was a brat or extremely grateful because he didn't tell his mom to sue me.

We had to leave through the back door, because some fans gathered around at the front.

"Normally, Austin tries to meet as many fans as possible, but we're already late," Mimi explained when we got in the car.

I nodded, and decided that if this week would be bearable at all, I had to explain to her how I wanted this to work.

"Listen, Mrs. Moon," I began, but she interrupted me.

"Mimi, dear, please."

"Mimi. Listen, I get that I'm a reporter, okay? But I'm not here with the intention to find something dirty on Austin, okay?"

I ignored Austin's snicker next to me.

"So just act like you normally do. Just be relaxed and natural. You don't have to explain Austin's every move, and you definitely don't have to justify anything to me."

She seemed almost relieved as she nodded. "Okay, that's great, dear. This is going to be a good week."

The snicker, again. And then softly, his voice.

"If she doesn't kill us all, that is."

* * *

It seemed like Austin's tactic to survive this week was ignoring me. Which, honestly, was fine with me. Dez and I made some small talk while the radio DJ took Austin through the questions he was about to ask.

I learned that this was standard, and was not, on the contrary to my believe, to make sure there weren't any embarrassing questions. It was to make sure the celebrity has their answers ready, so that there aren't any awkward pauses during the interview.

Quick and efficient, were the most important words. And I could tell Austin had done this a million times before.

Dez and I watched the interview together, while Mimi was off doing God knows what. Austin's answers were short enough to keep it interesting, but long enough to give the fans some feeling of depth. He joked around with the DJ, laughing when it was his turn, answering honestly.

Or it seemed like it was honest. He had had some acting gigs in the past, so perhaps he was just a good actor.

Yes, I'd done my research.

He talked about his music. About how he didn't write it, but worked 'closely together with the writes.'

I knew this was lingo for 'I yell at them when I think it's not good enough and never contribute anything useful at all.'

The interview finished and I was ready to go. I wasn't sure what we would do next, but I was told Mimi knew my schedule and would send me home when I was done for the day.

"Mom, how much time do we have?" Austin asked.

"We have all morning, darling. We start rehearsals after lunch."

So I guess it would be a long day.

"Can I go outside for a minute?" he asked Mimi.

She nodded and he practically ran away. Just when I was about to ask what he was going to do, Dez pointed to the window.

"Look. He always does this, if he can."

I walked to the window. And sure enough, there he was. Surrounded by girls. There were maybe 30 girls there, and he was talking to them, laughing, taking pictures with them and signing stuff.

He seemed to be enjoying himself.

Great actor, actually.

We waited for an hour. I was actually impressed with Austin. He took the time to have a little chit chat with each and every single one of his fans. Only when they all had their picture, he went inside.

I looked at him, while he walked up to Dez and did some weird hand shake thing. He was smiling, and he looked genuinely happy.

I was still convinced he was a brat, but it did seem like he appreciated his fans. I wrote that down on my notepad.

I had decided to make a little list of his characteristics, to help me with the article, and this was the first one I'd found that was good enough to write down.

Brat didn't make the list.

_Appreciative of his fans._

I closed my book, and followed towards the car. It wasn't lunchtime yet, so I was curious as to what we would do next.

I wasn't expecting what was to come.


	4. Chapter 4

"A playground? Really?" I asked. Even I could hear how judging my voice sounded, but I couldn't stop myself.

"You've got a problem with that? What are you, against fun or something?" Austin teased. I puffed, but didn't answer him.

He didn't deserve that.

Mimi sighed. "Sometimes they are a little bit childish." I sat next to her on the bench while Austin and Dez were playing around with the swings.

_Childish_, I wrote in my book.

"That's not necessarily bad," I told her. "I think everyone needs to hold on to that little kid part of them." I shrugged. "Too many people grow up to fast, you know."

Mimi smiled at me.

"You seem like a smart girl, Ally. I hope you rub off on Austin a little bit." I grimaced.

"Yeah, I wouldn't count on it." We were silent for a little while.

"You know, I wish there were more people like you in Austin's life. Smart girls his age, I mean. He doesn't really have anyone besides Dez and the girls he hangs out with every now and then are always so shallow."

"Just with him for fame and money, huh?" I said. She seemed to think about that, for a little while.

"Not necessarily. I think they do like him. They just don't… really like _him_, you know. They have this idea in their heads of what Austin Moon is. Of who he is. And usually, he doesn't meet their expectations. But it's never fair, really. Nobody is perfect."

"Yet that's what everyone expects from celebrities," I finished for her. She nodded.

I thought about that for a while. I guess she was right. But Austin wasn't just not perfect, he was a jerk.

Or maybe he was only acting like that with me. Maybe it was just because we hadn't had the best start.

Well, I had apologized for that and it was hardly my fault. It was gravity's fault, really.

So he shouldn't hold grudge for that.

After some more chit chat, it was finally time for lunch. Which was good, because I was really hungry.

And cold. Spending two hours on a playground could've been fun.

But not in December. Not even in Miami.

* * *

We went to a diner. It was a cute little diner, clearly not really popular. The waitress was an older woman who seemed to be simultaneously a waitress, the cook, the barmaid and the boss.

"I love this place," Dez said to me. "It's so 80s. We always try to eat here when we're in Miami, right Austin?" He didn't respond, but Dez didn't seem too bothered by that.

"Well, since you live in Miami, that mustn't be too hard, right?" I said.

I liked Dez. And I liked the idea of having people to talk to the following week, since I obviously didn't have to expect a lot of conversation coming from Austin's side.

"We live on the other side of Miami. That's why we're staying in a hotel room. Too much travel time. I guess we could eat here, if we would travel. But Austin is too busy to eat out most of the time and I'm not going to go alone." I wondered if he didn't have any other friends, but I decided not to push it.

Friends were quite often a delicate subject.

I knew it was for me.

"You know what," Mimi said excitedly, "You should ask Austin some questions for your article."

I almost choked on my mineral water.

"What, now?"

"No, next year," Austin said. He was smirking again and I shot him the deadliest look I could manage.

"I don't actually think I have a lot to ask," I said softly.

"Isn't that the whole idea of being a reporter?" Dez asked.

"Well yeah, but I…" I was going to tell him I wasn't really a reporter, but I decided against it. Austin could have me fired for that and I would hate to let Trish down after I'd come so far.

"I have kind of my own style. I'd rather observe people, and make up my own mind, then have them tell me what they're all about, you know. If not, I wouldn't have to spend all week with you, I could just sit here for an hour and write down everything he says."

"That could work," Austin muttered under his breath. I could tell by Mimi's look that she hadn't heard what he had said, but she was feeling it wasn't good.

If he continued like that, she would notice something was up.

So I kicked him under the table.

He whimpered, looking at me in shock.

I couldn't help it. He needed to stop being a jerk to me.

Not because I wanted him to like me. But because I liked Mimi, and I wasn't going to hurt her by writing a bad article on Austin. I didn't like hurting people.

But if Austin kept being a jerk, I had no other choice than to expose him. Because I also hated lying.

I made small talk with Dez and Mimi during the meal. Austin just sat there, not saying anything, playing with his food.

I didn't care. I would explain the kick to him later, when we were alone.

* * *

I didn't get that chance until we got at the place where Austin rehearses. When Mimi left me on my own to deal with some manager stuff, I decided to take my chance and I went looking for Austin.

He wasn't hard to find. He was on stage, sitting on the floor, playing his guitar.

I stood for a little while, just watching him. Every now and then he would stop playing and fiddle with some strings or buttons on the sound panel in front of him.

He was a good guitar player. I had to give him that.

When he got up, ready to leave, I came out of the shadows.

"Austin… We have to talk." He looked up, looking amused.

"Can you please not come too close? This is my favourite guitar."

I sighed in frustration.

"I'm sorry for breaking your guitar, okay! But I can hardly change what happened."

"No, but we can make sure it doesn't happen again," he said with a smirk.

So I kept my distance.

"I just wanted to talk to you about why I kicked you."

He frowned.

"Yeah, what the hell was that all about? That hurt. You've got a good kick." I grinned at the compliment.

"For a girl."

Of course it wasn't a compliment.

What was I expecting?

"Yeah, well, build a bridge and get over it. So, I know you don't like me. You've made that very clear. But I…"

"Hey!" he interrupted me. "Don't look at me like that. It's not that I don't like you. Well, I don't, but I have my reasons!"

My eyes widened. The nerve that boy had!

"Really, now? Like what? Not being as famous as you?"

He snorted, visibly hurt.

"I would, thank you very much, never dislike someone because they're not famous. Quite the opposite, actually. I don't like you because, one, you broke my guitar and covered me in coffee. Twice!"

"Well, I didn't do that on purpose," I muttered. I could hardly blame him for not liking me in that moment.

But could he really not find it in his heart to forgive me for that?

"And I was totally ready to forgive you for that, too. And when you looked at me like I was something you scraped off your shoe when we officially met, I thought it was perhaps just nerves." He jumped of the stage, walking up to me.

I instinctively stepped back.

"But when you said that we didn't have to pretend, around you, when my mom told you I'm nice to my fans? That said enough, Ally. You've already got your mind made up that I'm some kind of stuck up jerk. You already think you know my heart by heart."

I was opening my mouth, to protest, to tell him that that was not what I meant, that I was just trying to calm his mother down, but no sound came out.

"If that's what you think of me, I'm not going to try and prove you wrong. It would just be a waste of energy, because you would just think I was fake. And I get why you kicked me. Because you want my mom to like you and me not liking you kind of puts a dent in your plan."

He stepped forward a little. And I stepped back again.

"Now I will play nice around you, because we both know that it's just a week and then we can leave and never see each other again. But if I find out that you're trying to use my mom for anything other than pleasant conversation and motherly love, I will…" He swallowed heavily, not finishing his sentence.

He didn't have to.

He seemed to think about something for a little while, like he wanted to say something, but wasn't sure if he should And so he left, leaving the room silent. And cold, somehow.

I took out my notepad.

_Protective of family_.


	5. Chapter 5

Mimi told me that I didn't have to stay through rehearsals, because there would be plenty to come this week, and I gladly took her offer to have a cab bring me home.

I was exhausted. I did the inventory for the store on auto pilot. Luckily, the guy I had hired to take over from me while I was doing this had done a great job, and it didn't take too long.

I didn't even have dinner. I just went to bed, staring at the ceiling.

Austin definitely had the wrong impression of me. I realized that maybe, I had the wrong impression of him too. He loved his fans. He clearly loved his mom. And if I remembered correctly, the way he was behaving towards me at the beginning, when we'd just met, was more teasing than mean.

The bitterness and coldness came later.

Maybe he really did think I had my mind made up already.

And if I was really honest, he would've been right about that.

I shouldn't have judged him that soon. I promised myself I would actually try tomorrow, to be nice to him.

* * *

Which wasn't as hard as I'd expected, because when I walked into his hotel room the next morning with Mimi, he actually smiled at me.

Smiled. Not smirked.

"Morning Ally!"

"Good morning," I muttered.

Dez looked up.

"You two are talking to each other? Wow, that's a turn around."

"Just wasn't having my day yesterday," I told him. Mimi raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything.

"It's a Christmas miracle!" Austin exclaimed.

"It's not Christmas yet," I said, "and I don't believe in miracles."

Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say.

Dez gasped in horror, grabbing the table in order to keep himself standing. Austin just stared at me.

"Wait, what?"

"I don't believe in miracles?" I repeated. It came out sounding more like a question.

"How can you not believe in miracles?" Dez exclaimed. "What is next, you don't believe in aliens?"

I looked over at Austin, to see if Dez was actually serious. He shrugged. I decided that a change of subject would be the best thing.

"So, what are we doing today?" I turned to Mimi. She smiled happily.

"Oh, this is going to be so much fun guys! We have a photo shoot, which might not be that much fun, but after that, we're going to meet fans! We have a signing at the mall."

"Awesome!" Austin pushed past her, walking out of the hotel room. He seemed genuinely excited. Mimi followed him, and so did I. Dez came last, and I could swear I could hear him mutter:

"She doesn't believe in miracles…"

* * *

The photo shoot wasn't much fun. Austin didn't seem to enjoy it a lot either.

It did made me write something else on my list.

_Handsome._

Because let's be really, really honest here. I might not really like the guy's personality, but he was cute. Really cute. And he had abs to die for, which I found out when the photographer asked him to lift his shirt up just a little bit, just to 'tease the readers'.

Well, let me tell you, teased they will be.

The thing I personally found most attractive about Austin were his eyes, though. Not that I complained about his dirty blonde hair, his biceps, his abs or his cheek bones, but his eyes definitely got me most.

They were big and brown and they reflected him. They would turn a little darker whenever he was upset and they would twinkle when he was happy. You could tell a lot about his eyes.

Not that I'd been paying attention to them, of course.

Why would I do that?

After the photo shoot, we went for lunch. And then it was time for the signing.

I was overwhelmed by the amount of people that showed up. We drove past the queue, me trying to count the people and failing, Austin with his nose pressed against the window, with a smile so big that I thought his face could burst.

He did have a nice smile, when he was genuinely smiling and not smirking.

"You can sit behind Austin so you can see how he interacts with his fans. That would be useful for your interview, right?" Mimi said. I nodded.

And so I sat down, behind Austin, while Dez and Mimi sipped their coffees and observed from a distance.

I would really rather be with them, since the screams were ear piercing and a lot of the girls were looking at me like they would kill me right there if they got the chance.

"So, you ready?" Austin asked, moving his chair so I wasn't sitting directly behind him but more next to him.

"I don't think I'll ever be," I admitted. "I don't understand how you do not have any hearing loss yet."

"What?" he said. I was about to repeat myself when I got the joke.

"Ha ha. You must be the funny one of the house." I playfully slapped his arm and he pretended to be hurt. Then he smiled again, before turning around to start signing.

I realized that was the first normal conversation we had. He was actually acting nice to me, and his mother wasn't even around.

It felt a little weird, suddenly pretending that there was no bad blood between us at all. But it didn't feel _wrong._ Just weird.

I could get used to that.

Again, I promised myself I would give him a chance and not be so judgemental. Maybe he was nice. Maybe it wouldn't be such a disaster, to spend a week with him.

Then, I observed the signing.

It was crazy, how dedicated these girls were. We sat there for four hours, and we couldn't get through everybody. But the mall was closing and we had to stop.

Austin wanted to continue until he got everybody. But he would've been there all night.

One of the last girls that came up to him, looked at me suspiciously.

"Who's she?" she asked. Austin smiled at me.

I was about to tell her I was a reporter, when he started talking.

"Just a friend."

* * *

"I know you're not my friend, okay," Austin said. We were sitting in the car, with Dez, waiting for Mimi.

He must've noticed my shocked expression when he had said that.

He didn't know that I was only shocked, but not bothered by him calling me a friend.

I remembered the little tingle in my stomach, at his words. I was acting silly, of course, but I liked the idea of having another friend besides Trish.

I just wasn't sure if I was sure I wanted it to be Austin, yet.

"Then why'd you say it?" I asked.

"Because I don't want word to spread that I'm having a reporter around. That would only mean more reporters want to do this kind of thing and I'm not planning to live my entire life being judged."

"I am not judging you!" I said offended.

He started to say something, but was cut off.

Mimi got in, chatting happily about how amazing Austin's fans are. I turned towards the window, leaning on it.

Just when I thought Austin and I were sort of on civil terms.

"That's not what I meant," he whispered.

"Wasn't it?"

Silence fell. God, was I ready to go home.


End file.
